The Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts

"We have known for a very long time that health inequalities exist. These inequalities affect all Canadians but they have especially strong impacts upon the health of those living in poverty. Adding social sciences evidence – the understanding of social structures and of power relationships – we have now accumulated indisputable evidence that “social injustice is killing people on a grand scale.”

This quote is included in the final report of the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. In Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, authors Juha Mikkonen and Dennis Raphael provide a Canadian picture of health inequality.

This resource looks at 14 key social determinants of health and asks why each of these determinants are important to health; how we compare in this area to other wealthy developed nations; and how the quality of the specific social determinant of health can be improved.

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This publication was produced by Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House with funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors/researchers and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Public Health Agency of Canada or Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House.